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This report describes the results of a fleet test conducted with vehicles certified to Euro IV standards and equipped with high cell density close coupled manifold mounted catalysts. The purpose of the test was to determine the effect of MMT® on vehicle emission system durability under severe in-service operating conditions and to address vehicle manufacturers concerns about the effects of MMT® in advanced technology vehicles. The results clearly show that performance and durability of the vehicles are not affected even under severe operating conditions when MMT® is used in the gasoline. Two pairs each of Volkswagen Passats and Opel Corsas (eight vehicles total) were operated on a base fuel and a base fuel splash blended with MMT® at a concentration of 18 milligrams manganese per liter (“mg Mn/l”). The vehicles accumulated mileage on a driving regime representative of severe service.

Recent changes in regulatory practices have brought about a need for speciated analysis of the volatile organic components of vehicle exhaust. The purpose of this study was to allow interested laboratories to participate in a Round Robin so that each could assess their speciation methodologies. “Synthetic exhaust” samples were prepared of mixed DNPH-carbonyl standards deposited on DNPH cartridges, and solutions of alcohol in water. The fifteen participating laboratories included automotive, contract, petroleum and regulatory organizations. The results described in this paper consider only variability associated with the analytical measurement of samples that have already been collected in impingers or on cartridges. In general, alcohols (methanol and ethanol) were quantified without difficulty. With the exception of acrolein and crotonaldehyde, the quantitation of the carbonyl samples was very good considering the variety of analytical methods that were used.